Art of a News Release

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When working in a PR firm or freelance regardless of the industry you are in. A common task is writing a press release. A press release is a term that you may be vaguely aware of but have no idea what a press release is ? Well, they are documents that are sent out to the media to promote or inform the public of an event involving the organisation. They are used in most industries including gaming companies to inform journalists of releases or events. It can be beneficial to a journalist who is looking for a story and it can provide publicity for the organisation that sent out the press release. 


While press releases have been a common fixture in public relations, the desire for transparency in the industry has led to some changes. A notable change is that when press releases were sent out privately it is now a fairly common practice for firms to upload their press releases online even if a competitor sees it. This is to show transparency and is easier for a journalist to locate. It is still common to send journalists press releases, it is just an increase in press releases being easy to access. When researching video game PR firms for my blog post. (Check it out! A few of the companies that I stole, I mean used, their press releases as examples are listed.) Quite a few firms have listed their press releases and it is a great way to understand how they are structured. This blog post will look at a few examples of video game press releases and annotate certain aspects using knowledge from my university education. 


I would like to give a disclaimer that there are different ways to write and structure a press release. While I have my own preference that was taught and developed at university, it does not mean it is the correct way for everyone. Different firms may have ways to write a press release that differ. There are some aspects of the press releases that are similar and that each one brings something new and different. This is just a post that showcases what a press release may look like. 




Outlast Trials press release by Dead Good PR




FALCONEER press release by LittleBigPR


CATMAZE press release by PRhound



As mentioned previously, despite these press releases coming from different organisations there are some similarities such as structure, assets included or quotes. Press releases are an important task and it is great that we can see examples that can benefit any up and coming practitioner. 


Next blog post: The middleman: the true role of a community manager in gaming |Thursday 8th December|

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